There are few action franchises more impressive than John Wick. Four masterful blockbusters gradually escalated from brilliantly restrained gunplay to a massive spectacle of violence, all built off the goodwill gained by its first entry. The tetralogy inspired countless imitators, singlehandedly revived the career of Keanu Reeves and still inspires a virulent fervor in fans. Its title character is presumed dead, but can the franchise find a new center?
Fans of the John Wick franchise are understandably satisfied after the bittersweet ending of the fourth chapter. After multiple entries warning Wick of his eventual fate, he dies victorious and surrenders to the reaper with his head held high. The story could be comfortably concluded where it is, but John Wick may still have a world of stories to tell.
John Wick is about more than John Wick
As a character, John Wick is fun. He's compelling. He's complicated. His motivation is simple, relatable, and endearing. He's a horror movie villain with the perspective necessary to make him the hero. Perhaps most importantly, he's endlessly cool. Elements of his backstory will remain in the shadows beyond the runtime of the franchise. John is a unique protagonist in that he already knows the ins and outs of his world. The audience is over his shoulder, watching him shoot, stab, and judo throw his way from its lowest dregs to its highest tables. The first film plays with perspective by portraying Wick as a mild-mannered retiree solemnly grieving the loss of his wife. The audience is meant to be surprised when the rest of the characters respond to his name with shuddering terror.
However, the element of surprise is no longer a feature of the John Wick story. His bona fides are well-established. Wick is still the audience's guide into the shadowy criminal underworld of his neo-noir reality. The films employ an efficiency of worldbuilding unmatched in the action genre. There's so much about the High Table and its surrounding ecosystem that fans don't know. John Wick usually enters situations with a full understanding of the rules and traditions, leaving little room for organic exposition. A new figure in Wick's role could offer a much-needed alternative perspective on its never-ending expanse. Future iterations of the series could explore new facets of Wick's world, provide different dimensions to the secondary characters, and depict the waves left by the titular assassin.
There are dozens of John Wick knock-offs
The question "Can a filmmaker do John Wick without John Wick" has been answered several times, each with a resounding yes. Since the first entry came out in 2014, there have been more than a dozen attempts to recapture its success with different stars in the suit. Any action film with an unstoppable protagonist, a strong focus on martial arts, a minimalist story, and a neon-lit aesthetic will garner comparisons to John Wick. Too many lines may have been drawn, but many analogies are startlingly accurate.
Netflix's Blackout is John Wick with Josh Duhamel in the lead role and an insufferable amnesia gimmick where a story should go. Atomic Blonde gives Charlize Theron her chance with a Cold War espionage angle. Pure Flix's Beckman adds a mystifying thread of religious message-mongering to the worst imaginable version of the Wick format. Most of David Leitch's output has followed his most popular outing's example. Everyone is doing John Wick now. Why not let the original crew take a whack at it?
John Wick has other stories worth telling
John Wick is about the cycle of vengeance that consumes all who participate. The vicious circle doesn't end with Mr. Wick. The fourth entry concludes with John Wick's demise, but the knock-on effect of his quest has placed new warriors into his position. Wick brings his old friends Caine and Koji into the fight against the High Table. Caine kills Koji but spares his young daughter Akira. Akira leaves the film as John Wick leaves Osaka, but she returns for a brief post-credit scene. Fans see her track her father's murderer to Paris. The battle isn't resolved, but Akira has the strength to carry this franchise through a new entry. A film not about John Wick but about the ongoing wave of violence begetting violence and its latest emissary.
The John Wick series could end where it is or carry on into a new chapter. Akira could lead the fifth entry, but the open world of the High Table allows for an endless cycle. There's always been a mythic element in the John Wick story. A never-ending line of succession connected loosely by ever-escalating violence would complete comparisons to the legends of old. No franchise needs to last forever, but there's enough room in this one for a lot of new and intriguing stories to be told. Maybe they should simply change the name and carry on.